A study of the operation of labour markets from an industrial relations perspective

Dobson, JR

Abstract

This PhD by published works falls entirely within the field of industrial relations
and contributes to three distinctive areas of the subject - general industrial
relations, industrial relations in the steel industry and the operation of labour
markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
A vigorous debate is currently taking place about the future of industrial
relations and whether the subject should be narrowly defined and be about trade
unions and collective bargaining, or alternatively about all aspects of employment
relations, including the non-unionised. Concern has also been expressed that
most research was conducted within a very narrow definition of the subject. The
publications submitted for this PhD contribute to widening the field of industrial
relations by examining various aspects of how labour markets actually operate in
practice. The research was mainly empirically based and consistently advanced
arguments and conclusions which went against the orthodoxy of research at the
time. A paper on good industrial relations questioned widely held assumptions
underpinning public policy. A study of multi-unionism argued against the view
that it was a widespread problem. Industrial relations in the steel industry
needed to be viewed in an historical and environmental context. The loss of
management control implicit in the operation of seniority promotion systems was
found not to inhibit efficiency. Studies of the Latvian labour market found serious
discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and language. While the collapse of
communism was often assumed to have resulted in radical changes in industrial
relations in Poland, my research discovered substantial continuity, albeit through
informal systems. And finally, despite widespread concern about the level of
immigration from Eastern Europe, my analysis of data obtained from the worker
registration scheme, suggested that much of this concern was misplaced.

Citation

Dobson, J. A study of the operation of labour markets from an industrial relations perspective. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2010